Defense and turnovers were the story in the first quarter as each team made life miserable for the other en route to an early 6-6 tie.

Bonneville’s Jenna Czarnecki, a sophomore guard, drilled a 3 at the two-minute mark to open things up before Kat Selvera, senior from Ben Lomond, answered with a 3 of her own. Czarnecki scored five more in the next 90 seconds, helping the Lakers take an 18-9 lead after the first stanza.

“Jenna is a heck of a shooter,” Dunyon said. “Anytime she is open, she has the green light. She’s great at decision making, making shots, or shot-faking to get to the basket. When she’s on, she takes pressure off the entire team.”

Pressure indeed was relieved, as it was all Bonneville from that point forward.

Sporting a deadly duo down low in senior forwards Talia Afuvai and Mikaela Johnson, the Lakers dominated points in the paint (combining for eight in the second quarter) and rebounds. Bonneville also switched to a zone defense, leading to steals and fastbreak points aplenty.

Czarnecki led the Lakers in scoring with 18 points, while Afuvai chipped in 14.

Ben Lomond senior Taylor Abbott, listed on the roster as “G/F/C,” proved her positional flexibility on a sequence where she blocked three shots, took a loose ball and led a fast break before dishing off to teammate Ashley Garcia for an easy bucket.

Abbott finished with five blocks while Garcia, a 5-foot-5 senior point guard, led the Scots with 11 points, including a play where Garcia took her defender hard off the dribble, then scooped in a contested layup while drawing a foul.

But it wasn’t enough for the Scots, who fell to 2-9 on the season and 0-3 in region.

“Hats off to Ben Lomond,” Dunyon said. “They put us in uncomfortable situations and were scrappy.” But, he added, “Our team is together. Any win, the box score is spread out. We are in a good place.”